Tara Murray
A youth mentoring program is looking for volunteers to give back to the Brimbank community.
Raise Foundation runs a youth mentoring program providing vital early-intervention and evidence-based mentoring for vulnerable high school students from schools across the state, including Sunshine College.
The foundation is in desperate need of new volunteers to sign up and become a mentor to meet the higher than ever demand for its services.
Raise Foundation founder and chief executive Vicki Condon said that with the difficulties of the past several years, there had never been a more important time to think about volunteering.
“We know many young people in Brimbank are experiencing an increasing number of challenges that impact their wellbeing, yet many are unable to access a caring, independent and trusted adult to talk to – someone that shows up each week just for them,” she said.
“With our industry leading training we can equip anyone from the community to become a youth mentor, so we’re asking anyone interested to consider signing up and helping address this urgent social need.”
The Origin Energy Foundation has been supporting the Raise Foundation since 2021 with Origin Energy employees from across the country undertaking training to become youth mentors as part of the Foundation’s volunteering program.
Origin Energy manager Jon started volunteering with Raise in 2021 and mentored a 13-year-old boy who struggled with confidence and trust in relationships.
“The main impact I noticed was the confidence he gained in interacting with adults and even starting to see it as a positive and fun thing – all incredible steps for someone who sadly suffered great personal loss and trauma throughout his childhood,” he said.
“It made me feel really good that I could help a young person in a formative part of their lives. “The biggest learning for me was, once I’d committed to it, how easy it was to make a positive contribution to a young person’s life. It’s so humbling and fulfilling and I’d encourage anyone considering becoming a mentor to have a go,” he said.
Details: ow.ly/mAkR50MXBoH
